Leon Czolgosz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Leon Czolgosz
Czolgosz in 1899
Born	Leon F. Czolgosz May 5, 1873 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	October 29, 1901(1901-10-29) (aged 28) Auburn Prison, Auburn, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Execution by electrocution
Occupation	Laborer
Known for	Assassination of William McKinley
Conviction(s)	First degree murder
Criminal penalty	Death
Signature

Leon F. Czolgosz (born May 5, 1873 – died October 29, 1901) was an American worker. He was known for shooting and killing President of the United States William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. President McKinley died eight days later because of an infection from the wound. Czolgosz was caught right away. He was put on trial, found guilty, and executed by the State of New York about seven weeks later.

Leon Czolgosz's Early Life

Leon F. Czolgosz was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 5, 1873. He was one of eight children in a Polish-American family. His family moved several times when he was young.

When Leon was 10, his mother died. In 1889, his family moved to Natrona, Pennsylvania, where Leon worked in a glass factory. Later, at age 17, they moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There, he found a job at the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company.

Around 1893, there was a big economic problem, and the mill closed for a while. When it reopened, it tried to pay workers less. The workers went on strike. Czolgosz saw a lot of unfairness around him. He joined groups that wanted to help workers and make society fairer. He became very interested in a political idea called anarchism.

His Beliefs: Anarchism

In 1898, Czolgosz moved to live with his father on a farm in Warrensville, Ohio. He had seen many worker strikes, and some had turned violent.

Czolgosz became very quiet and kept to himself. He was impressed by a speaker named Emma Goldman, who was an anarchist. Anarchism is a belief that society would be better without any government or rulers. Czolgosz felt there was a great injustice in America. He thought rich people got richer by taking advantage of poor people. He believed that the government was the reason for this unfairness.

The Assassination of President McKinley

On August 31, 1901, Czolgosz traveled to Buffalo, New York. President McKinley was going to speak there at a big event called the Pan-American Exposition.

On September 6, Czolgosz went to the exposition with a hidden gun. He shot President McKinley twice. The wounds themselves were not immediately deadly. However, President McKinley died eight days later, on September 14, 1901, because an infection spread from the wound.

Czolgosz was quickly arrested and taken to the police station in Buffalo.

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  President McKinley greeting people at the Temple of Music, just minutes before he was shot on September 6, 1901.

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  The spot where President McKinley was shot, marked by an "x".

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  Leon Czolgosz's photo after his arrest.

Trial and Aftermath

Czolgosz's trial started in Buffalo on September 23, 1901. This was nine days after President McKinley had died. Czolgosz and his lawyers were told he could appeal the sentence, but he chose not to. His lawyers also knew there was no reason to appeal, as the trial had been fair.

Czolgosz was executed on October 29, 1901. This was forty-five days after President McKinley's death.

Legacy and Historical Markers

After the assassination, Emma Goldman was arrested because people thought she might have been involved. However, she was released because there was not enough proof. She later wrote an article where she compared Czolgosz to Marcus Junius Brutus, who assassinated Julius Caesar. She also called McKinley the "president of the money kings." Other anarchists did not support Goldman's views, believing Czolgosz's actions had hurt their movement.

The building where the shooting happened, called the Temple of Music, was torn down in November 1901. Today, a stone marker on Fordham Drive in Buffalo shows the approximate spot where the shooting took place.

Czolgosz is buried in Soule Cemetery in Cayuga County, New York. His grave does not have his name on it. Instead, there is a stone that reads "Fort Hill Remains."

See also

In Spanish: Leon Czolgosz para niños

• John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln
• Charles Guiteau, assassin of President James Garfield
• Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin of President John F. Kennedy